Limited travel draft gear construction



Jan. 1, 1935. H. 1.. SPENCE LIMITED TRAVEL DRAFT GEAR CONSTRUCTION FiledOct. 27, 1931 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 avwento'c Meril 'aence 'flA/a flbtomuJan. 1, 1935. H. L. SPENCE 1,936,330

LIMITED TRAVEL DRAFT GEAR CONSTRUCTION Filed Oct. 27, 1931 3Sheets-Sheet 2 m 5 m w l I I C l/ H a 1 Q ,9:

E I a "i avweutoz fizderfzkfaence Jan. 1, 1935. H. L. sPENcE LIMITEDTRAVEL DRAFT GEAR CONSTRUCTION Filed Oct. 27, 1951 s Sheets-Sheet sPatented Jan. I, 1935 This invention-relates to limited travel'draftgear constructions, and more particularly to means whereby the draftgear may be compressed inibuff agreater amount than is'usual and com-(.3; pressedinpull a lesser amountthan inbufi.

An object-of the inventionis'to provide novel and improved means of thetype referred 'to, which shall be ofsimple construction, inexpensivetomanufacture, easy to assemble'and durable inservice; Another object isthe provision ofv a draft gear construction wherein greater compressionin buff than in pull is effectively attained without interference withor complication of the spring construction and without taking up spacewhich would'otherwise'be available for springs. Other features andadvantages of the-invention willnbecomeapparentv as the descriptionproceeds.

A preferred embodiment of myyinvention .willnow-be:describedin:connection with the accompanying drawings whereinFig. 1 is a plan view, partly in section of draft mechanism in which theinvention is incorporated. Fig. 2 is an enlarged section taken on theline 2-2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an enlarged section taken on the line 3-3of Fig. 4. Fig. 4 is a vertical section show! ing the constructionillustrated in Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is an enlarged perspective of the yoke.

For purposes of illustration, the construction is shown as including ayoke of the vertical type, to the forward end of which is pivoted aswiveling coupler. However, it will be appreciated that the invention issusceptible of embodiment in connection with other types of yoke andcoupler. Shown at A are car sills joined at their forward ends bystriking casting B and at their rearward ends by back stop casting C. Afriction draft gear of suitable construction is shown as comprising ahousing member 1, into the forward end of which there telescopes a wedgeor follower 2. Shockabsorbing or cushioning mechanism of any suitable orconvenient type may be interposed between said wedge and housingmembers, the gear here shown for purposes of illustration being of thesame type as that disclosed in the pending application of Ernest H.Schmidt and Hubert L. Spence, Serial No. 319,064, filed November13,1928, Patent No. 1,913,414, June 13, 1933. Springs 3 included in saidshock absorbing mechanism are shown within the housing 1. The rear endof housing 1 may abut against projections 4 on the back stop casting,while the follower 2 is adapted to abut against draft lugs 5 secured tothe sills. A yoke 6 is shown as extending above and below the draft gearand having a portion 6-a for abut- ;ment "against the rear of the draftgear housing '1, and a portion 'B bftGwhich "is pivoted at 7 the shank 8of the coupler '9 in a known manner.

In. order "to provide "for; say 4" travel 'offthe gear in .buif theback"stop castingis cutaway .asat 10 anamount ample'forthe desired travel'andLSufiicient clearance; This increased travel of :the rgear in buffis particularly desirabledn- 'a'smuch :as 'buffing shocks are ordinarilycon-, siderably greater than those in poll. On the other handgit is notdesirable tovhave this amount of :trav'el'in pull, especially in longtrains. "However, the varied and conflicting requirementslof a draftgear construction make it difficult to provide for such lesser travel inpull without complicating the construction of "the draft gearorintroducing .structural weaknesses.

@I :have 'foundithat: by providing the yoke with projections 6c and byextending the draft lugs 5 upwardly and downwardly, as at 5-a,sufficiently to engage the projections on the yoke, the travel of thegear in pull is simply and effectively limited to the desired amount. Itis advantageous to provide lateral projections 6c at either side of theyoke and on both its upper and lower portions and to providecorresponding extensions on the lugs 5 for each of these projections.For example, the distance between each projection 6-0 and thecorresponding draft lug may desirably be 2 /2". That is, the yoke andlugs will go solid after the yoke has moved forward 2 while the housingsection 2 is permitted to travel 4 in buff before going solid againstthe housing section 1. The projections on the yoke conveniently passabove and below the housing section 2, and contact directly with theextensions of the draft lugs which are secured to the sills.

It maybe noted that in this construction n extra room is required forthe parts which limit the travel of the gear in pull, the projections6--c and extensions 5--a being accommodated in the space which isavailable without modification of standard sill and draft gearconstructions. 45 By reason of this compact construction there is roomfor a draft gear of increased length with respect to the usual standarddraft gear of 24%", while the standard overall dimension of 5' 6 50 fromthe center of the bolster to the face of the striking casting ismaintained. The size of the springs and accordingly the spring capacitymay. also be increased by reducing the length of the back stop castingC. For instance, a gear some 55 8" longer than standard may beaccommodated in this simple manner.

It is obvious that instead of the construction shown other types of yokecould be used and the coupler and yoke could be connected in othermanners, as by a known draft key. When'such key is used, the sillsshould be cut away to permit the desired travel of the key, andclearance provided so that the draft key in pull will not go solidagainst the striking casting and preventthe operation of the yokeprojections.

The terms and expressions which'I have employed are used as terms ofdescription and not of limitation, and I have no intention, in the useof such terms and expressions, of excluding any equivalents of thefeatures shown and described or portions thereof, but recognize thatvarious modifications are possible within the scope of the inventionclaimed.

What I claim is:

1. In a railway draft mechanism, a coupler, a yoke having upper andlower arms integrally connected at their rear ends, a connection betweensaid yoke and coupler for causing the yoke to move with the coupler inboth draft and buff, car. sills having front draft lugs secured thereto,a draft gear engaging said draft lugs and enclosed by said yoke, saiddraft lugs extending above and below said draft gear adjacent theconnection between said yoke and coupler and into the planes of saidyoke arms and lateral extensions on said yoke arms spaced normally apredetermined distance rearwardly of said draft lugs and movable indraft into contact with said draft lugs to limit the pulling travel ofsaid coupler.

2. In a railway draft mechanism, a pair of draft. sills, means extendingtransversely of said sills at their forward ends, a coupler having ashank resting directly on said means, a yoke movable with respect tosaid means and said sills and having upper and lower arms integrallyconnected at their rear ends, a connection between said yoke and couplerfor causing the yoke to move with the coupler in both draft and buff,front draft lugs secured to said sills, a draft gear engaging said draftlugs and enclosedby said yoke, said draft lugs extending above and belowsaid draft gear adjacent the connection between said yoke and couplerand into the planes of said yoke arms, and lateral extensions on saidyoke arms spaced normally a predetermined distance rearwardly of saiddraft lugs and movable in draft into contact with said draft lugs tolimit the pulling travel of said coupler.

3. In a railway draft mechanism, a coupler, a yoke having upper andlower arms integrally connected at their rear ends, a connection betweensaid yoke and coupler for causing said yoke to move with said coupler inboth draft and buff, car sills having front draft lugs secured thereto,a draft gear engaging said draft-lugs and enclosed by said yoke, saiddraft lugs extending above and below said draft gear adjacent theconnection between said yoke and coupler and into the planes of saidyoke arms, and lateral extensions on said yoke arms spaced normally apredetermined distance rearwardly of said draft lugs and movable indraft into contact with said draft lugs to limit the pulling travel ofsaid coupler and yoke to an extent less than the travel of the couplerand yoke in buff, said yoke having a greater cross sectional areabetween said lateral extensions and the connection with the coupler thanrearwardly of said extensions for transmitting draft stresses to saidsills in excess of those required to compress the gear a predeterminedamount.

HUBERT L. SPENCE.

